Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.
Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean?
Mr. McGuire: There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?
We've seen the future, and it's rubbish.
Plastic is our future because we can't get rid of it. Once in the environment, it's there to stay. It doesn't biodegrade like organic materials, and doesn't oxidize like metals. If it breaks down at all, it breaks down into smaller plastic pieces. A lot of it ends up in the oceans, and on the beaches.
Even the large marine animals are affected. This minke whale washed up on a beach.
When the contents of its stomach were examined, it was found to contain a lot of plastic grocery store bags.
Even though their diet is different than the whales' other creatures are affected too. The Laysan Albatross has especially suffered.
There's hardly a place they can go that isn't surrounded by plastic trash.
The origins are both marine and land based. Plastic doesn't observe political boundaries.
The stuff found inside the Laysan Albatross is usually familiar to most biologists. More frequently, however, what they find is recognizable to any modern person.
The organs of the dead birds have been displaced by colorful plastic trash.
These pictures illustrate how these albatrosses were found.
Even if we make an effort to use less plastic, and recycle more religiously, it already permeates the environment.
The birds consume everything from bottle caps to toothbrushes.
These birds contain more plastic than a Lego model.
The plastic is more colorful than the birds.
But we don't think it adds to their natural beauty.
We believe that these creatures should stick to an organic diet.
It's a lot healthier for them than plastic.

Sometimes the best way to cover up your illegal activities is to go underground.
That was the idea of a resident of a property on McGills Road at Kremnos, in NSW Australia.
A shipping container was buried underground like a survival bunker. Located in a remote area surrounded by bush, it looked like it would offer complete privacy.
But the McGills Road fire in Kremnos, part of a 700 hectare fire that threatened more than a dozen homes near Blackbutt Road and Curlew Drive, turned the area into a blackened wasteland.
Once under fire, the secret was revealed. When police and RFS personnel inspected the properties around the area, they stumbled over some electrical wires in the dirt.
The wires led to a hatch, which opened into the mysterious bunker.
Equipped with high power lights and ventilation, the bunker was an ideal location for growing marijuana in secrecy.
118 cannabis plants were discovered. The hydroponically grown marijuana emerged unscathed from the fire that destroyed the surrounding area and homes.
A 68 year old local resident was arrested and charged with enhanced indoor commercial cannabis cultivation, drug supply, and drug possession.

Body modification has been a tradition for some people for hundreds of years. The Padaung, in Burma, are part of the Karen Lahwi ethnic group.
From an early age, the women wear rings, with more added periodically to make their necks longer.
A long neck is considered by the group to be a sign of beauty.
Their dedication to the tradition continues so they can be the most beautiful women of the tribe.
Stretching and ritual scarification are seen as a form of initiation into adulthood; expression of art; or it may distinguish a village or tribe.
In Djougou, Benin, tribal scars are displayed proudly. They aren't just for tribal identity. They also convey personal information.
They need to be done at a young age, but due to their importance, the kids are anxious to get it done.
They happily participate in the joyous ritual.
The pain is brief.
But the scars last for a lifetime.
Eventually the wounds heal.
The Chambri tribe in Papua, New Guinea, scarify to pay tribute to their origin legend.
They believe that man evolved from crocodiles, and became land-dwelling when they emerged from the Sepik River, which runs along the Chambri Lake.
So they scar their bodies to resemble crocodile skin.
The wounds have to heal in a controlled way to raise the scars so prominently.
The process is incredibly painful.
This video shows how these scars are made.
Circumcision is another popular body modification. It signifies that a boy is a full-fledged adult member of a tribe, with the accompanying privileges, such as hunting, becoming a warrior, and taking a wife.
The Ndebele, a bantu-speaking tribe from South Africa and Zimbabwe, has a two month circumcision ritual, during which each boy receives a tribal name that identifies him for life.
The Xhosa smear the lucky man with mud after the ritual is complete to insure that he will turn the color of manhood.
Although these rituals have been performed hundreds of times, there are sometimes complications.
Here are pictures of some of them.
We're more of a fan of temporary tattoos.
They can express your tribal affiliation and personality without all the trauma.

Even though they report on crimes involving guns, most journalists don't know anything about firearms.
So they've come up with a pictorial guide to help describe the guns they're talking about.
Below: A kid holding an AK-47 Assault Rifle

The Tonghe County Stadium in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province had been undergoing renovation, and was behind schedule.
With time running out for finishing the 10,000 square foot stadium, and an impending inspection by provincial leaders and Communist Party officials, the project managers cut a few corners.
The oval track had already been finished, except for the surface marking. Figuring out how to lay out concentric ovals requires math.
So they laid out the track as a rectangle, with 90 degree corners.
“In order to get it ready for the leaders, we painted it like that,” one of the stadium managers said. “We think it is ugly too but if the leaders don’t ask us to change it, what are we supposed to do?”
The innovative layout hasn't been popular with the public.
“It’s impossible to run on such a surface,” said long distance runner Zhang Yong. He went on to call the track a disgrace to the sport of running.

You expect the school where you send your kid to shape young minds. Ballina High School in northeast New South Wales, Australia boasts in their description:
"The school's culture reflects a commitment to strong discipline and a pride in belonging, as reflected in the wearing of school uniform and respect for the rights of others."
With annual events like Remembrance Day, Senior Formal, Swimming Carnival,
Recognition of major art works and wood projects
Volunteers, the Toke Visit
And Slave Day
You would expect an environment of safety and respect for every student.
12 year-old James Webb, a Year 7 student at Ballina High, had his arm broken while at school.
A spokesman for the Department of Education, on behalf of Ballina High School, said the boy was “pushed over and fallen on by another boy” during a game of grab football, a game that had been repeatedly banned.
James’ mother Vikki Webb has been told by fellow students her son was swung around by his arm, and then jumped on by a fellow Year 7 student. Ms Webb said one student told her the attacker laughed afterwards.
“The principal told me the kid didn’t deliberately do it but I think the school is trying to sweep it under the carpet,” she said.
Year 12 student Shoni Reilly posted on the Northern Star’sFacebook page that the behaviour of James’ attacker was not the fault of the school or its teachers.
“The acting principals and teachers at Ballina High have the best interests of all children at heart,” she wrote. “They can’t physically control the actions of each student and their actions in response to this incident would follow the precedent set for all students.”
School captain John Parker posted that teachers had warned students against playing football.
“If you believe the school has not given this ‘attacker’ long enough, don’t blame the school when they can only interpret the rulings regarding these actions that are given to them from higher up,” he wrote.
“Ballina High School is a fantastic school, with great facilities, great teachers and great systems of working things.”

When it comes to skating under cars, a six year old has beaten all other contenders flat.
Gagan Satish, only six years old, is from Bangalore, India. He's become a celebrity in his own community, and is rapidly gaining fans around the world.
Gagan, who received his first pair of roller skates at the age of three, covered 230 feet in just 29 seconds.
What makes his accomplishment unique is that he skates close to the ground.
His face remains no more than five inches from the pavement.
That's how he performs his signature feat.
Gagan likes to skate under cars.
"I love skating," he said. "I have been doing it since I was three years old. My next goal is to skate underneath 100 cars. I also want to go to the Olympics."
His record 29 second run took him under 37 cars.
His amazing flexibility allows him to do the splits and slide right under the chassis.
Gagan trains rigorously to keep up his skills. He starts the day at 5:00 AM and spends a few hours being coached before going off to school.
After school, he skates in the streets, spending a couple of hours on speed training and muscle flexibility before he goes into his limbo position.
Gagan has inspired some of his friends to take up limbo skating. His coach, Yatish Gowda, expressed great pride in his young student.